To Win My Heart: Revamped Edition
by Madanimechick13
Summary: !This is a revamped all new version of my original To Win My Heart story! Neji couldn't think of any possible way his day could get worse especially since he was waiting for Sakura to go on a date...although it was strange to him at first now he's determined to win her heart but can he do it so easily? !In here you will find new plot twists and all new chapters. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Hello readers! Let me just start by saying that it's literally been years since I've been on this site let alone posted anything. I was bored one night and I came across a printed version of _To Win My Heart _which was my first completed fanfic about a developing love between Sakura and Neji. While reading the story I thought about all of the things I would have written differently now and then I thought…Hey! Why don't I rewrite this story? So that's what I'm doing. I used to love writing and I've been out of it for a while so to rekindle my passion I've decided to revamp my old work. I know that Naruto the series has come a very long way since the events occurring in this story but to that I say… oh well. This is fanfiction people it's whatever I want it to be . I hope you guys enjoy this revamped version of _To Win My Heart._

**Chapter 1: Just His Luck **

Neji Hyuuga paced back and forth in front of the opening of a molding log fence. He stared past the entrance up to the house that lay beyond it and sighed. He couldn't think of any possible way his day could get any worse. He had run into so much bad luck that he couldn't tell what was coming next; assassination or eternal life. Something told this eighteen-year-old that his day would go terribly wrong when he carelessly squirted toothpaste into his eye. If it wasn't that, it had to be when he tripped and stumbled down several stairs. He glanced down at his hands which still stung from clinging to the bannister as he slid down. There was also the fact that he had to shovel coins out of his pocket to buy breakfast after discovering that there was no more instant ramen in his fridge. He didn't know what made him feel worse though, the fact that he was starving or the fact that he picked out several puffs of lint before he could even find a coin. Neji stopped pacing and took a deep breath before entering Haruno Sakura's front yard. He was yet prepared for a date that destiny had wanted him to suffer from. As he made his way to the door, he thought about what had gotten him here to this moment.

_**-Warning! To avoid confusion, any sections written in italic letters resemble a flash back.—**_

_There was a chill in the air on New Years Eve as people different and alike gathered to celebrate New Years at the shrine. The New Year's festival was always something that the people of the village looked forward to. There were games and activities, food and socializing for everyone to enjoy. For Neji, it had been something he never enjoyed. Crowded places always annoyed him. Unfortunately for him, he was forced by his uncle Hiashi to take his cousin Hinata. Neji wondered why Hinata, being only a year younger than himself, needed to be escorted to an event such as this _

_ "She's a girl, and quite beautiful I might add." He recalled his uncle's face as he gave Neji his reasoning. He had looked rather pleased with himself that he was able to help in the creation of such a beautiful person. Neji rolled his eyes at his uncle's comment. "The world is a dangerous place. I just need to make sure there's someone watching over my daughter and that someone is going to be you." His voice had turned stern and Neji could tell that his Uncle was not kidding. In other words, he knew that he would be stuck watching Hinata. _

_ "Neji?" Neji snapped out of his daze when he heard Hinata's voice. He glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm going to go look for Sakura and Ino." She was so soft spoken he almost had to strain to hear her. _

_ "Do what you want," he said dismissively. "But don't get into any trouble. I'm not taking the heat from Hiashi." His uncle always got on him for the stupidest reasons, he wasn't about to get in trouble for something serious._

_ "I'll be ok," she said. "Naruto-Kun can watch me," she added. _

_ Neji grunted as he stared into the crowd. Hinata paused to wait for a response from him, when she realized she wouldn't get one she hurried into the crowd to find her friends. _

_**What is there to do here? **__He thought to himself. He had never been to the New Years shrine celebration before but of all the holiday celebrations that took place at the shrine, New Years was the most crowded. He looked around in a desperate attempt to ease his boredom. He crossed his arms and shivered. The jacket his was wearing was a little too thin. __**Great, I'm stuck at this stupid shrine and there's nothing to do, just my luck. **_

___Neji seemed to be the only person not laughing or smiling or talking with friends. He shifted his weight back and forth on each leg. He started to get knocked around by all the people pushing past him. For someone as strong as him, he felt like a twig standing in the middle of all these groups of people. He made his way over to the side of the food stand where it seemed to be less crowded. _

_ "Attention everyone, our annual New Year's matching game is about to start. Gather around to find your perfect New Year's match." _

_ Neji looked over at the man announcing the match making game. He looked to be in his thirties with thick coke bottle glasses and sharp clothes almost like he was a wealthy man. __**But if he was wealthy, he wouldn't need to run a match making booth for kicks. **__Neji snorted. He despised the idea of match making. How could someone else tell you who you're supposed to love for the rest of your life? He watched as several eager looking men made their way to the booth. __**Fools, **__he thought to himself. _

_ "We need one more man to match up with our twelve beautiful lady contestants!" The announcer shouted. "Just one more," he looked around the crowd to try to fish out another contestant. He made eye contact with Neji who quickly tried to turn around and walk away. _

_ "You there, the young man with the eyes," the announcer said referring to Neji's Byakugan icy white eyes. _

_ "Damn it." Neji swore under his breath. He turned towards the man and shook his head to indicate that he wasn't interested. _

_ "Come on sir, you've been standing around by yourself all night. If anyone needs this game, it's you." A couple of people chuckled at the announcers shot at Neji. He narrowed his eyes in aggravation at the announcer. How dare he call him out that way? He wore a sour expression on his face as he walked over to the booth. _

_ "This questionnaire is for you to fill out." The announcer said as he passed around a small sheet of paper to every guy. "The ladies have already filled one out and are waiting behind this curtain to figure out who their match is." Neji hadn't even noticed the large brown curtain that hung like a stage curtain behind the booth. So just because these twelve woman decided to participate in this game, automatically one of them is my soul mate? Neji felt sick at the thought of something so simple. _

_ "I heard Haruno Sakura is behind there." Neji listened closely to a nearby man who was filling out his questionnaire. "I hope she's my perfect match." He rolled his eyes. He had suspected that every man would want to be paired with Sakura. She had matured into one of the prettiest girls in the village over the past five years however she was pretty reserved when it came to dating. She hadn't really shown interest in many men since Sasuke Uchiha had disappeared from the village. This had left many guys in a desperate hazed confusion as they tried to figure out why they could do to "woo" her. Neji had also grown into on of the village's more handsome men but he didn't have time to date. Who would when him and his team were constantly being shipped back and forth on missions to retrieve Sasuke? _

_ Neji looked down at his questionnaire and began to give very vague, unenthusiastic answers to the questions. _

_Question 1: What do you look for in a girl?_

_Question 2: What is your favorite color? _

_**You've gotta be kidding me. **__It was hard for Neji not to break his pencil in half from clutching it so hard. These were the most basic questions he's ever seen. These couldn't even crack the surface of what kind of personality he had. _

_Question 3: How would you want your match to look? _

_He couldn't take it anymore. Neji scribbled over the last five questions and carelessly tossed his paper at the announcer. He stared at it puzzled. _

_ "You don't want to finish?" he asked. _

_ "Does it look like I want to finish? This game is a joke. You'll have just as much luck figuring out my perfect match if I leave the rest of the questions blank then if I had answered them." _

_ The announcer stared at him blankly. A look of disbelief was clearly visible on his chiseled face. "I didn't really think there would be someone for her…" he said sofly. He stared at Neji who could barely make out what he had said. _

_ "What?" he asked. "What are you babbling about?" _

_ The announcer shook his head and ushered Neji to stand by the curtain. _

_ "Nothing, nothing, just give us a few moments. We'll reveal your matches in a second." _

_ Neji gritted his teeth. This game really was a joke if they were still going to pair him with someone even after he basically quit right in the middle. He looked down the line of men, he was the third person to finish. _

_ "Is everyone lined up?" The announcer asked. He looked around. All twelve men had a spot by the curtain. Neji glanced at the expressions on everyone's face. Some looked eager, some looked excited and some sick. He just looked annoyed and was starting to build up an appetite. _

_ The announcer went on to explain that each spot along the curtain had a small slit and that the men would have to step through the slit to their match who would be waiting on the other side. Nobody hesitated to open up the curtain. There were cheers and some sighs of disappointment. He took a deep breathe before opening his slit in the curtain. He wasn't prepared for what he got. _

_ Her soft skin seemed to be reflecting a heavenly glow. Her shoulder length pink hair blew carelessly in the winter breeze. Her jade eyes were wide however, it didn't seem to be with disappointment but more with surprise. She was beautiful. Sakura smiled at Neji who stared blankly at her._

_ "S-sakura…" was all he managed to choke up after a few seconds. _

_ "Hi Neji." She raised an eyebrow at him. "I didn't think you would be into matching games." _

_ "I'm not." He stared over at the announcer. "I was swindled." __**Damn you Hiashi. **__Neji couldn't help but blame his uncle for this one. It was his entire fault for making him bring Hinata. _

_ Sakura giggled. "I decided to play because it would have been nice to see who fate thought would be perfect for me." Her tone of voice was mocking. __**Good **__Neji thought. __**So she doesn't believe in this either. **_

_ "But when I saw the questions I was so disgusted. I didn't even finish." Neji's stomach lurched. Swallowing a huge gulp of air was all he could do to keep himself from vomiting. She hadn't finished the questionnaire either. _

_ "So that's what he was babbling about…" Neji said, referring to the announcer. _

_ "Who?" Sakura asked. _

_ "Nothing, don't worry about it." Neji couldn't believe that Haruno Sakura was his perfect match. They had both left the questionnaire blank halfway through, probably on the same question and that is what led the announcer to believe that they were perfect for each other. The thought almost made him sick. _

_**Chill Neji it's not like you're obligated to take her out or anything. So what if you guys had the same exact results. Anyone with sense wouldn't have finished that questionnaire. **_

___"You wanna get away from here?" Sakura's question snapped him out of his deep concentration. _

_ It was more like he wanted to get away from her. He could think of anywhere in the world he wanted to be right now then in this situation. He nodded as he followed her away from the crowd of participants. They walked in silence for a while. Neji knew he wouldn't be the one to speak first so he waited. _

_ "Do you want to give it a shot?" Sakura asked nervously. Her cheeks were a rosy color. Neji couldn't tell if it's because she was nervous, or because it was so chilly out. _

_ "Give what?" He regret saying it. There was no point in sounding so dumb. He knew exactly what she meant. _

_ "I mean we're a match. It's a little unexpected but I wouldn't mind giving it a shot." Neji looked down at his feet. She wanted to go on a date with him. _

_ "I guess we could." He managed to say. _

_ "Great!" Neji was surprised by her enthusiasm. "So let's see…" his body froze as she looped his arm around his and dragged him along. "We can't tomorrow because I have hospital duties…so let's go Thursday. Is that a good day for you?" _

_ "Yea?" he was slightly confused. He was allowing her to call all of the shots. He stared at her arm looped through his. He wondered if anyone he knew was watching. _

_ "Yo, Neji! Sakura!" Neji knew it was too much to wish for to be unseen by anyone. Naruto's voice rang through his ears like the sounds of gunfire. He looked over. Naruto was sitting at a table with Hinata and Ino. _

_ "Hey guys!" Sakura waved with her free arm. Neji freed her arm from his as he pretended to scratch his head. "Come on Neji lets go join them." Neji sighed. At this point he just wanted to go home. Discovering that Sakura had been his perfect match was too much for him to handle in one day. _

_ "What have you two been up to all night?" Naruto asked as the sat down at the two available seats at the table. Hinata smiled dryly as Neji took his seat. Naruto pulled Hinata closer to him and Neji glared at the two of them. _

_ 'Watch it.' He mouthed to Naruto. He swallowed nervously as his loosened his grip around Hinata. She gave Neji an evil stare. _

_ "I saw them over by the matching game booth." Ino said loudly. Neji's eyes widened as Hinata and Naruto gave him a questioning look. _

_ "You were playing the matching game?" Naruto laughed in disbelief. "That was the last thing I would have expected from you."_

_ "Can it" Neji snapped. _

_ "So are you two lovers or something?" Naruto ignored Neji's threat. Sakura smiled nervously. _

_ "It's nothing like that. We just got matched together by sheer coincidence. We're going on a date Thursday to give it a shot." Neji was shocked by how easily Sakura was able to reveal their business. It annoyed him a bit. He prayed for some kind of distraction from this conversation. _

_ "Thursday's perfect. We can double." Naruto wore a wide grin on his face. "Is that ok with you babe?" he asked Hinata. She nodded nervously. Something about being in her cousin's presence made her nervous. She knew that she wouldn't be able to be herself with Neji there. _

_**I don't remember inviting you, **__Neji thought. He didn't mind so much though. It would ease the awkwardness of sitting across a table staring a Sakura for an hour. He was sure that the two of them shared absolutely no common ground. _

_ "Attention everyone!" The same announcer from the matching game stood atop a large stack of crates. What way was he going to ruin Neji's life this time? "We will celebrate New Year's in a few moments at the shrine. All of those who wish to help bring in the New Year, please gather at the shrine!" _

_ Neji sighed in deep relief. His prayers had been answered. _

_ "Well let's get to the shrine shall we?" he said as he practically threw himself from the table. Sakura stared at him questioningly as everyone got up and followed him to the shrine, which was simply a statue of Shodaime, the first Hokage._

_ The shrine was lit up with yellow Christmas lights that seemed to pierce through the dark night with a fascinating glow. Neji couldn't deny that it was a beautiful sight to see. _

_ As everyone counted down, confetti was released into the air. "HAPPY NEW YEAR" was the chant shouted in uniform. _

_ "Hey Hinata," Naruto tugged her arm. Hinata blushed a deep red as Naruto leaned in close to her for the first kiss of the New Year. She and Naruto had been dating now almost half of a year. She couldn't have been happier for their blooming relationship but kissing him in public still sent nervous chills down her spine. _

_ Neji glanced at them and grunted to signify that he was watching. Something about Naruto and his cousin's relationship bothered him to the core. His grunt was returned by Naruto's middle finger pointed straight at him, though his eyes never left Hinata's for a second. Hinata's cheeks were fire engine red as Naurto moved in so close that their noses were touching. He put his lips on hers softly and she responded by wrapping her arms around his neck. He scooped her up by the legs and spun her around. _

_ "Ah Naruto-Kun!" she squealed as she clung to him for safety. "Put me down." She giggled. _

_ "Happy New Year's Hinata" he kissed her again. _

_ Neji twitched at the sight of them. _

_ "Aren't they cute?" Sakura asked. He didn't know when she had gotten there. _

_ "Oh, hey," he breathed heavy from the shock of her sudden appearance. "H-happy New Year" he managed to say. _

_ "Same to you," she smiled sweetly. "I look at those two who are obviously so happy together and it just reminds me of…" she blushed as she remembered who she was talking to. _

_ "Reminds you of who?" he asked curiously. _

_ "Nobody," she said frantically. "They just make me smile." _

_ "It makes me sick." He mumbled._

_ "What?" _

_ "Huh? Oh nothing." Neji thought about what Sakura had just said. She couldn't have been talking about Sasuke. If she was still drooling over him why had she told him that she wanted to go on a date? _

_ "So I'll see you Thursday?" she asked. _

_ "Sure." He couldn't help but to sound dismissive. _

_ "I'll see you then." She smiled as she turned to walk away from him. _

_ He watched her as she walked away. _

_ "Damn you Hiashi." He mumbled again. _

And that is how Neji found himself outside of Sakura's door. Waiting for disaster to unfold itself. He had been waiting for what seemed like almost an hour now. He could have sworn that she told him 'just a minute' almost twenty minutes ago.

"What's with these girls and getting ready?" He asked himself.

This was just his luck.


	2. Chapter 2: A Path to the Wrong Fate

**Chapter 2: A Path to the Wrong Fate **

"So…" Sakura drummed her fingers on the edge of the table. She gazed up at the clouds passing by slowly overhead. They were seated outside at a small ramen café in the middle of the village. It was a popular spot amongst many young ninjas. There were a number of things she could say about this date, but none of them were particularly positive. Neji sat across from her with his arms folded. He looked stiff and very uncomfortable almost like he was dying to get up and run away. She didn't really understand what was causing him to act this way. She couldn't help but think that it was something she did.

"Aren't we supposed to be meeting Naruto and Hinata?" He asked. He could think of a million other places he'd rather be besides sitting awkwardly across from Sakura. On the way to the café, he had already come to the conclusion that she wasn't his type. She was too self-conscious and she lacked self-confidence. He didn't get why. She was beautiful and the number of men that shot him narrow eyed looks on the way to the café should have been some indication to her that she was wanted by many. He looked around. "What's taking them so long?"

"Over there," she pointed to the spikey blonde haired Naruto treading excitedly down the road with Hinata's hand in his. Her long black hair swayed in a long ponytail behind her. She wore a small grin on her face as they approached the table.

"Sakura-Chan, Neji." Naruto greeted them both with a nod of approval. Hinata waved to Sakura and smiled at Neji as Naruto pulled up two seats for them. "Are you two enjoying yourselves?" The slyness in Naruto's voice irritated Neji. He looked up at him and was surprised to see that he was leaning in a little too close to him with his eyebrows raised. Neji gritted his teeth.

"I guess." He responded as he pushed Naruto back to an upright position in his chair. Sakura gave him a look. His nonchalant attitude wasn't very reassuring.

"So Sakura-Chan," Naruto leaned back in his chair. "Did we keep you guys waiting?"

"No not-"

"Yes, you did." Neji quickly cut Sakura off. She glared at him. She didn't know how much more of his somber attitude she could take. Naruto fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair.

"You didn't" she continued to say. Hints of frustration slipped through her voice.

"Neji, are you ok?" Hinata asked.

"I'm fine just leave me alone." Neji wondered why so much anger was in his voice. He didn't mean to speak to Hinata that way. The surprised look on her face confirmed how harsh he'd been. He often forgot how sensitive Hinata was.

Naruto glared at Neji. He didn't care if Hinata was his cousin; nobody was going to talk to his girlfriend that way.

"Hey man, what's your problem? Don't talk to her like that." Hinata blushed at Naruto's defense for her.

Neji sunk in his chair. He couldn't believe how this day was backfiring on him.

"You ok Hinata?" Sakura asked. The kindness in her voice fastened Neji's heartbeat slightly. Why did he feel this way? He looked at Hinata again who seemed to be at a loss for words. He wanted her to say something, anything so that he wouldn't have to speak first.

"I'm fine," she said after a few moments. "Neji I'm sorry I bothered you." He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He wished that Hinata would stick up for herself more. At that moment he was grateful that she had Naruto to be her backbone. Naruto looked surprised at Hinata's willingness to dismiss Neji's behavior. In Naruto's mind, he definitely didn't deserve an apology for the way he was acting, especially towards Sakura.

"I'm sure Neji wants to apologize to Hinata." Sakura said. Neji felt all eyes at the table on him. He couldn't believe all of this was happening. They hadn't even ordered yet. Where was the waiter to provide a distraction? He sank even lower in his chair. If there was one thing Neji hated, it was apologizing and he refused to do it in front of everybody. He would apologize to Hinata when the two of them were ever alone.

Sakura clenched her fist and stood up. She had had about enough.

"Neji" she said as sweetly as she possibly could.

"May I have a word with you?" he thought about whether or not he should actually follow her. Who knew what limits her anger could reach when the two of them were alone. He reluctantly stood up to follow her. She grabbed his arm and dragged him around the corner of the building.

"Is there a problem?" She asked as soon as they were far enough out of ear shot for her to begin to raise her voice.

He stared at her. The intensity of her eyes was piercing him. He felt her anger radiating off of her. He knew he had gone to far but he couldn't admit it. Sakura wasn't his type, he was sure of it. But she was beautiful, even in anger she was hard to look away from. His train of though escaped him.

"Wow" he covered his mouth as soon as the words escaped him. _**Shit! **_He thought. _**Did I just say that out loud? **_

__Sakura softened her expression a bit. She searched his face for some kind of clue for what he was thinking. "W-what?" she asked. She had been completely thrown off guard by his response.

"Nothing." Neji needed to change the subject fast. Perhaps arguing was the best way to get his mind off of things.

"Why are you acting this way?" she asked.

He remained quiet. He didn't know what to say to her. As much as he wanted to scream at her and curse her and everyone else for making him suffer on this double date. He didn't want to see her upset. It was a look he had known all too well from the night Sasuke had left the village.

"I…" his words escaped him.

Sakura needed an answer. She continued to look through him. She didn't understand how he could be so cold. If he didn't want to go on a date, why didn't he just say no? She didn't know who she was kidding when she thought that there could actually be something for them. They were two different people. After Sasuke had left the village, Neji was quickly declared one of the handsomest men in the village when girls quickly began chasing after him. Sakura had to admit that he was very handsome but she couldn't see past his horrible attitude.

"If you don't want to be here why don't you just leave?" The aggression in her voice returned. She had to be strong. He had to know that she wasn't going to stand for his attitude.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"What do you think they're doing?" Naruto asked. He stared in the direction that Sakura had dragged Neji. It had been almost fifteen minutes since the angry Sakura had dragged Neji away in a heated moment.

"It's not right to spy." Hinata flipped through a book that she had in her bag.

"Who said anything about spying? I'm just curious." He snatched the book from Hinata and closed it. "I hope Sakura is teaching him a lesson. He had no right to talk to you like that."

Hinata smiled as she placed her hands on both sides of Naruto's whiskered face. "Oh Naruto-Kun. I didn't take it personally."

Naruto held Hinata's hand to his face. He was surprised.

"Why not?"

"I've known Neji my whole life. I know how stubborn he can be. He has a head strong attitude and doesn't like admitting when he's wrong." She shrugged. "But I know he doesn't mean it. I keep hoping that Sakura can soften him up a bit. But they don't seem to be getting a long too well." She stared off into the direction that the two had gone.

"Well we can always find out." Naruto wore a mischievous grin.

Hinata shook her head. "It's not right to spy. You of all people should know tha-"

By the time she looked up Naruto was already half way around the corner. Her mouth dropped in surprise.

"Naruto!" She yelled as loud as she could. She jumped up and ran after him. "It's not right to spy." She giggled under her breath. She would be lying if she said that she didn't want to know what the two were talking about.

"I said leave." Sakura crossed her arms and stood her ground. "It's obvious you don't want to be here. You're ruining everybody's mood." She finally found the strength to break away from his gaze which when angry, was strangely seductive.

Sure Neji would have left on his own, but after being ordered to by Sakura he wasn't going to go anywhere.

"Sakura I-"

"Leave!" she screamed. She didn't want to say it to him anymore.

Neji frowned. Just when he thought some kind of apology was going to make its way up from the pits of his stomach.

"You can't tell me what to do," he barked back. "Why don't you leave?"

"Sasuke would have never treated me like this." She had said it under her breath but Neji heard it. He chuckled.

"What does Sasuke have to do with this?" he asked. He had her all figured out, now it was time to make her crumble.

"W-what? Nothing, he has nothing to do with this." Sakura tried to hide the flush of her cheeks. She turned away from him, embarrassed that she had let the subject of Sasuke even come up in a conversation between her and Neji.

"This isn't about me at all." Neji stated. "This is about you, and your unnatural obsession with Sasuke."

Sakura gaped at him. Had he really just said that to her?

"You don't know anything." She said.

"Sakura," he put a hand up to stop her from saying anything else. "You need to let the guy go. He's been gone for almost five years. For every hundred thoughts you have about him you probably only cross his mind once, if even that." He knew his words were hurting her feelings. He felt the pang of regret rising in his stomach but she needed to hear the truth. He could see thin pools of tears starting to swell up at the bottom of her eye lids. Such beautiful jade eyes and he had been the one to make them cry. Why was he doing this?

Sakura could feel heat burning in her cheeks. She was so angry. She could kill him. She had never felt so insulted and downplayed by anyone before. Why was he treating her like this? Her whole body shook with frustration. It took every inch of strength within her to keep her from breaking down in front of him. That was the absolute last thing she needed.

Neji couldn't stand to see her like that. He had to find some way to turn the subject around. "Listen…" his voice was noticeably softer. "If Sasuke had cared about any one of us, he wouldn't have stayed away for so long. He let us go; we need to let him go too." It was true that he did wish that everyone would forget about Sasuke. He wasn't coming back. These little missions that he was forced to go on to help bring him back were completely pointless. Five years in the running and still no sign of him. That's the sign of someone who didn't want to be found.

"You need to find someone who appreciates all you have to offer." He touched her shoulders lightly. The action surprised her. "I don't think that person is going to be me." He couldn't look at her as he said the words.

_**Dammit Neji **_he thought to himself. _**What are you saying? **_

__Would he have like to be the one that appreciated Sakura and loved her whole heartedly? Maybe one day, despite his earlier denial. But he couldn't even begin to think about someone that's been so loopy for so long over someone else. He had realized that a long time ago.

He let his hands slide down her arms as he released his grip.

"I'll see you when I see you." He reluctantly turned to leave her. She watched as he made his way down the road. She wondered if he would turn around even once to look back at her. He didn't.

Sakura stood there silent. Neji had made an excellent point. If Sasuke cared about anyone he really wouldn't have stayed away for so long. She knew this all along herself but she couldn't bring herself to accept it. Sasuke was always so cold to her. He had never shown any interest. The thought of it made Sakura shake with anger. Why did she care so much that he was gone? Why was she so hung up?

"No," she said to herself. "I won't shed anymore tears for him. I won't…" She wiped her eyes roughly with the palms of her hands. Once she was sure she had regained composure she turned to walk back to the table. She would tell the others that Neji had just decided to go home. An explanation wouldn't be necessary though. In a nearby bush Sakura caught a glimpse of blonde hair sticking out from the surface. She gritted her teeth as she yanked Naruto up from the bushes by the roots of his hair.

"Sakura-Chan!" Naruto shouted in panic. "That hurts, please let me go."

"You little runt," she barked. "Where you spying?"

"No, no I was just on my way to the bathroom." He laughed nervously.

"Oh right, the bathroom in the back of the building." Naruto smiled at Sakura's sarcasm.

"Don't hurt him Sakura-Chan! I warned him not to." Hinata smiled pleadingly at Sakura as she released him from her grip.

Naruto sighed. "Hinata-Chan just in time." He scooped her into her arms. She blushed at the sudden motion. "I was about to be killed."

"Has anyone ever told you how dramatic you are?" Sakura asked.

"Is it true Hinata?" Naruto asked her with a huge grin on his face.

"Just a little bit." She replied. She looked at Sakura who looked distracted by something. She was staring off into the direction that Neji had left in.

"Sakura…" Hinata put a hand on her arm. "Are you ok?"

She smiled at Hinata. Her reassuring smile made her forget about the heavy weight she had on her shoulders.

"Yea, don't worry about me." She forced a smile, although she was certain she wasn't fooling anyone. Hinata held her gaze on Sakura before she let her go.

"Come on Hinata, I'll take you home." Naruto grabbed her hand and started leading her down the road. He gave a small wave to Sakura. Hinata gasped.

"Naruto wait!" she dragged her feet behind him. "We haven't even eaten yet. Don't you want to at least order? Naruto!"

Despite the heavy feeling on Sakura's chest she couldn't help but laugh as they walked away. The happiness soon faded away as memories of the day's events came flooding back. "I do need to find someone who appreciates me." Neji had been cruel in his words but he had been right, and that's what bothered her the most. She knew she had to get over him. She had to.


End file.
